Persuading wealthy car nuts to go on a track day to drive a new BMW M5 at breakneck speeds sounds straightforward. That said, the audience were captains of industry and company owners, and they need to be persuaded to take a day out of the office at very short notice.

The bigger challenge was in motivating people with the desire and means to order a car that retails at around $250,000. Ultimately success would be judged on hitting vehicle sales targets.

BMW launched M5 with VIP days at Hampton Downs with senior dealer personnel on hand to chaperone potential customers. Prospects were targeted who were likely to be in the consideration phase for purchasing a high-performance executive class vehicle. They were selected based on geodemographic profile, vehicle ownership and the timing of their last purchase.

A pre-qualification process saw marketing and dealer teams working hand-in-hand to ensure attendees were vetted for quality. A mailing designed to stand out in the letterbox was sent inviting recipients to register their interest via a personalised microsite. This allowed BMW to subtly manage attendees for maximum efficiency and prioritise best prospects according to demand.

As a result, the conversion from mailing to event interest was 29%. The planned events were over-subscribed by 20% despite the short time frame which led to BMW hosting additional sessions. Actual sales resulting from those invited were 225% of target, and the net ROI on all costs was 745%.